ANEWYORKTIMESNOTABLEBOOKOF2020“Inthissuperblyarticulatecridecoeur,Safinagivesusanewwayoflookingatthenaturalworldthatisradicallydifferent.“--TheWashingtonPostNewYorkTimesbestsellingauthorCarlSafinabringsreadersclosetothreenon-humancultures--whattheydo,whytheydoit,andhowlifeisforthem.ANewYorkTimesNotableBooksof2020Somebelievethatcultureisstrictlyahumanphenomenon.Butthisbookrevealsculturesofother-than-humanbeingsinsomeofEarth’sremainingwildplaces.Itshowshowifyou’reaspermwhale,ascarletmacaw,orachimpanzee,youtoocometounderstandyourselfasanindividualwithinaparticularcommunitythatdoesthingsinspecificways,thathastraditions.Alongsidegenes,cultureisasecondformofinheritance,passedthroughgenerationsaspoolsoflearnedknowledge.Assituationschange,sociallearning--culture--allowsbehaviorstoadjustmuchfasterthangenescanadapt.BecomingWildbringsreadersintointimateproximitywithvariousnonhumanindividualsintheirfree-livingcommunities.Itpresentsarevelatoryaccountofhowanimalsfunctionbeyondourusualview.Safinashowsthatfornon-humansandhumansalike,culturecomprisestheanswerstothequestion,“Howdowelivehere?“Itunitesindividualswithinagroupidentity.Butculturalgroupsoftenseektoavoid,orevenbehostiletoward,otherfactions.Byshowingthatthisistrueacrossspecies,Safinailluminateswhyhumanculturaltensionsremainmaddeninglyintractabledespitethearbitrarinessofmanyofourdifferences.BecomingWildtakesreadersbehindthecurtainoflifeonEarth,towitnessfromanewvantagepointthemostworld-savingofperceptions:howweareallconnected.
